Job Discussion Forums

[teryndactyl]

Hi all,

I have a one-way ticket from Australia to Spain in May. I have paid my deposit on a TESOL certificate course in Madrid; it isn't a CELTA, but I've done some research and it seems pretty good. I have a BA and a UK passport. I've also worked as a child carer for almost two years, so I'm not actively avoiding teaching children, even if I would prefer adults. I am very interested in learning the Spanish language, but also in teaching English as a career. Yes, I have read all the 'get out of TESL while you have the chance, or your soul will be destroyed' topics, and I'm still game.

My issue is that my mother has a friend....and that friend has a sister, and that sister lives in Barcelona. So my mum's friend emails her sister about her friend's daughter (me!) who is running off to Spain with a one way ticket, a few thousand euros, and dreams of teaching English. The sister emails the friend, who forwards to my mother, who forwards to me (with a note to please thank her friend and her friend's sister). This email basically says 'No you silly girl, there is no work, all the unemployed English hoards are flooding into Spain to teach English...change your plans while you have the chance'.

I'm rather frustrated that now I have finally finished uni and am able to pursue what I have been wanting to do for years, I may be prevented from doing so by people who may not even be that particularly interested in TESL. Can anyone offer me his or her opinion without crushing my soul? I'm not looking for fantastic wages, just enough to get by, a room near the city...maybe dinner out a few times a week.

Oh, before I hit nervously hit 'post' (yes, I'm nervous because I know you guys are a tough crowd) I should mention that I know May is the worst hiring period, I'm planning on working my butt off in summer camps before looking for permanent work in Sep/Oct.

Cheers

Te

[spiral78]

Ok, look. You can probably find enough work in the regular period to make this work - it won't be easy, but hopefully, barring any really bad luck, it should still be do-able.

I know very well that, if you're living something that you've really dreamed of, you can overlook some level of difficulty It can be worth it.

However, I would hope that you're not counting on the summer camp work to tide you over financially. Those jobs are not abundant, and usually get snapped up in advance by teachers who worked in the area over the past year. You may scrape up something, but this will be a difficult time for you!

Also, when you're counting up the thousands you take with you, count on this: language schools pay monthly, at the END of the month worked. Landlords will want a month's rent as security, the first month in ADVANCE. And you may have to pay an agent's fee of up to another month's rent.

Do make absolutely certain that you've got something to fall back on financially in case of any bit of bad luck...it's no joke to be far from home and family and friends and broke.

[lodzubelieveit]

I've worked near Barcelona since last summer, after previously working in other regions of Spain. The catch around here is in the rental prices of flats, and especially the deposits - I've done two flatsearches in the last year, and each time the cheapest available single furnished flats are about �700 with a whopping deposit of 4 or 5 months' rent (yes, really - this shocked me greatly, as previously in Andalucia or Asturias I'd only be looking at one or two months' rent as deposit). If you're earning enough to afford that, well, you're a better and luckier man than I. Naturally, you can find a flatshare for about �300-�400 and whatever informal deposit you wangle with your flatmates, but of course you risk being shacked up with crazy, dirty, immature, noisy smoking student-types (as I was last summer), and you won't have any legal contract or protection about deposits or suchlike.

If you're prepared to tough out the latter situation for a year, be my guest. However, the only long-term way to survive via TEFL in Catalonia is to form a relationship with / marry someone, preferably rich and local, and move in with them. For a single person it ain't a goer, unless you've got thousands of euro from an inheritance or something, and are just TEFLing as a hobby.

[maruss]

I have heard warnings from many people that accomodation is expensive there,many places are excessively noisy and standards vary enormously!
This seems to be the biggest hurdle,particularly with the hefty deposits many landlords require...I suppose it has a lot to do with the popularity of the city on a year round basis and there always events of one kind or another which attract tourists from all over the world on the frequent budget flights from European cities.
With the severe recession in Spain,the work situation has obviously become more difficult,and that no doubt includes for prospective teachers as well???

[sheikh radlinrol]

[maruss]

I don't know any country in the world which pays teachers enough to buy appartments or enough to support familes?

[Mabolsa ritchie]

teryndactyl..........after your TESOL in Madrid are you planning on moving to Barcelona??

I lived there for 8 years and noticed that year on year there were more and more 'immigrants' from the rest of Europe attracted by the bright lights and great nightlife.

While I wasnt an English teacher, my next door neighbours were and even though they got by, it was a bit of a struggle for them and they eventually left, pissed off with it all.

That was 4 years ago, so as I'm not up to date with things in Barcelona at the moment, I can assure you it will be a lot tougher now, as it was boom times when I lived there and there was plenty of money about.

Your mum's friend's sister has a point that maybe Barcelona is over-run with guiris, but I reckon there are other parts of Spain that are worth a look

I've decided to do my TEFL and will look to move to a city on the Atlantic coast due to the fact that I surf and there's some of the best surf inEurope on that coast
I'm not particularly bothered where, but I love Santander, Bilbao and San Sebastian.

I dont know what the job situation is like in these towns, but I reckon it'll be a lot easier to find a job than in Barcelona (if you were planning on trying it out)

And the people are a lot nicer in the rest of Spain

[maruss]

I also found them quite reserved and difficult to get to know,a bit like the French.Perhaps it's not fair to call them unfriendly,just indifferent to strangers.One of them actually told me that they were fed-up with all the foreigners in Barcelona and had problems with the other Spanish people because they want their language and culture to be recognised as unique from the rest of Spain!

[teryndactyl]

Thank you for your replies everyone, I was worried I wouldn't get any and I would have to sit here and stew in my own paranoia.

spiral- Oh dear, I was actually planning on relying upon camps to get me through the summer. I wasn't expecting to make a profit of course, but just to save on food and accommodation. I have emailed a few and have been told that I will be interviewed when I get to Spain. It did cross my mind that with the finicial situation, more teachers who would usually go on holidays may be applying for camps, but then I thought 'oh, no you'll be in magical Spain, la di da di da'. Thank you for the reality check, I will research into alternative summer jobs as a backup.

lodzubelieveit- wow, 700 euros for a flatshare? It sounds like the deposit which is the ultimate bank breaker. I think for awhile atleast I will put up with the 'student types', I lived at home during uni and feel like it is a rite of passage to share with immature, dirty and noisy people. They start smoking though, I'm out of there. More seriously, how did you find working in Asturias?

Mabolsa ritchie- actually I am planning on staying in Madrid for my first year of teaching. But I was assuming that the employment/financial situation of Madrid and Barcelona would be very similiar? Santander sounds lovely to me...well actually I google'd 'coolest temperatures in Spain' and got Santander, so I have my heart set on moving there...one day, when I have more experience under my belt.

maruss- I suppose I can understand the Spaniards' hesitation in welcoming so many foreigners into their country at the moment, especially with unemployment on the rise. My friend just spent a year in Germany and said they were also fairly reserved, maybe it is a European thing? I will have to brace myself for it, being a friendly Aussie and all...

[lodzubelieveit]

I meant �700 would be the starting price for a single furnished flat. You can get a room in a shared flat for about �300-�400. Have a look on loquo.com.

I don't know what the prevalence of / attitude to smoking in Australia is, but, from my perspective, it's much more common amongst young people here than in the UK. People will, by and large, not understand non-smokers' anti-smoking attitudes or preferences, and will certainly not take kindly to any requests for them to restrict where and when they should smoke, no matter how politely expressed, and no matter how inconvenient or unpleasant it is for you. If smoking bothers you, make sure it is 100% clear from any initial flat visit and, as you say, walk immediately if they say they do.

Asturias (I was in Oviedo) was lovely - lots of green mountains and nature. Limited work availability, but a very pleasant place to be if you like fresh air and being in nice surroundings. Not the place if you want to be out hitting the nightclubs every night though - would be considered a bit of a rural backwater by people from Madrid or Barcelona.

[maruss]

There are far more unfriendly places than Catalonia,believe you me!Try Moscow for example(actually,don't even think about it!).I can speak German quite well and even I have found Germany to be a very formal and unwelcoming country,unless you already know someone there well...Berlin is an exception,and people there are much more laid-back and open than in many other parts of Germany.But there is not much work to be had there in teaching ,and Europe is in deep recession anyway.
I hope things don't get too bad down under because your country still has a lot going for it,despite those terrible bush fires recently.
All the best and let us know how you get on!

[Mabolsa ritchie]